To Catch a Thief
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: Keeping the peace in Ravnica is a tough job, so what is a straight-laced Azorius Arrester to do when a hated rival steals the credit for his work? The answer is simple. Bend the law and get even.
1. Crime and Punishment

Late afternoon sunlight lit up the bustling paved thoroughfare as two male Azorius Arresters strolled through the open air markets of Tin Street. Tin Street was one of the oldest and busiest commercial centers of Ravnica's Tenth District and few civilians paid much mind to the blue cloaked law enforcers wearing their polished half plate armor. They both looked to be in their mid twenties and while they both had strong athletic builds, their faces lacked the grim and dour lines that the old grizzled Arrester veterans often developed later on in life.

Arrester Felix Novak cast a lazy glance around the crowded marketplace with his blue eyes before giving a small yawn, "Our patrol is almost over Cas. What do you say we finish up soon and head on down to that new tavern that just opened up on Ivy Lane? I hear they have some good meat pies and cute elven barmaids."

Arrester Casimir Janko gave an amused grin to his longtime friend and partner before shaking his head gently, "If you spent the same amount of effort chasing lawbreakers as you do chasing skirts, you'd be the Watch Commander of the District by now."

Felix laughed and shrugged as they passed a loxodon entertainer juggling various objects with its hands and its elephant trunk, "All right fine. Maybe I'll just ask someone else to go with me. How about that pretty legal secretary who works in the district's Sova branch office... what was her name again?"

"Lydia," Cas answered as he gave a sidelong glance.

"Right... the one who seemed to be pretty sweet on you the last time you and I were on subpoena serving duty over there."

Cas frowned in slight embarrassment and tried to change the subject, "Stay sharp Felix. We're still on duty and a lot can happen between now and then."

"Oh sure," the taller burlier Arrester sighed in boredom, "Maybe after a month of patrolling Tin Street, we can finally bring our pickpocket arrest number up to a whopping four. Then all of Ravnica will be safe at last."

Cas chuckled and gently rolled his eyes while continuing on with his patrol. In a way, the young Arrester could sympathize with his best friend. Things had been relatively uneventful in the Tenth District of late and while the peace and quiet was welcomed, it still made for tedious foot patrols. It was ironic that the city guild he had aligned himself to would be happy with this peaceful status quo, yet part of him inwardly hoped for something to actually happen. After all, if there were no crimes to stop, then how would a young ambitious patrolman like him ever get promoted?

A few goblin couriers scurried by underfoot while the two friends passed by a minotaur merchant and a bunch of scholarly vedlaken having a political debate on the corner. Seeing that everything was in good order, the Arresters turned to make their way back to the precinct headquarters when they heard cries for help coming from the doors of one of the nearby tenement buildings.

Casimir instinctively put his hand to the hilt of his gladius short sword before nodding to his partner, "Let's go!"

The two Arresters pushed past a small crowd that was beginning to form near the entrance to the old sandstone apartment building. At the doorway, they could see a panicked young woman with long black hair scrambling to get outside, "Somebody please help! He's going to kill us! He's going to kill us!"

Felix stopped the frantic woman as she ran into him and he restrained her in his arms, "Slow down Miss. Everything is ok. Who's trying to hurt you?"

"My ex-husband Pavel!" she exclaimed in tears, "He's upstairs with a knife... he's already stabbed my boyfriend Lukas!"

Cas turned his sharp brown eyes inside only to see Lukas, a young fair haired man not much older than him stagger out the doorway holding his side. The entire left side of the victim's tunic was covered in blood from what looked to be a deep knife wound. The woman gasped again as Lukas collapsed to the ground in a heap. Felix immediately ripped a piece of his own blue cloak off and went to the victim's side, applying pressure to the wound.

"Everyone make room! Call the Wojeks! Call a hussar!" Cas shouted to the crowd. Gripping his short sword, Cas turned back to the doorway of the building and poked his head inside. From the winding stairwell above, Cas spotted Pavel, the gaunt scruffy man rushing down the steps holding a bloody knife. Upon seeing the Arrester, Pavel skidded to an abrupt halt and turned to rush back up the stairs toward the roof.

"Hey! You! Stop right there!" Cas shouted preparing to give chase.

"Cas! Hold on!" Felix called from the doorway. The broad shouldered Arrester was still giving first aid to the stab victim, and shot his partner a grave look, "We should wait for backup! This guy is in bad shape!"

"We can't let that attacker get away," Cas argued quickly, "Just stay with the victim. I'll be careful, ok?"

Felix grimaced to his friend before giving a nod and turning back to the crowd, "Hey! Are there any healers here?"

Meanwhile, Casimir Janko charged up the dark winding stairwell after Pavel. Despite his heavy steel armor clattering loudly though the stairwell, Cas pushed himself, hoping to use his momentum to catch the assailant. Huffing and puffing with desperation, the shaggy haired man known as Pavel reached the top of the stairs and kicked open the wooden door leading to the rooftops.

As he scrambled back out into the glare of the late afternoon sun, Pavel looked about, trying to judge if he could make a leap across the roof to the top of another nearby building. He was interrupted from his thoughts as Cas burst from the narrow doorway and reached for his gladius.

"Stop right there! By order of the Azorius Senate, put down your weapon!" Cas commanded.

Pavel desperately glanced about and saw there was nowhere left for him to go.

"Put down the dagger!" the Arrester shouted again.

The scruffy man raised his hands before slowly lowering both arms, as if to put his weapon back down on the ground. Just as the disheveled man put both hands on the ground, he scooped up a handful of dust and dirt from the rooftops and threw it in the Arrester's face.

Cas sputtered as he was momentarily blinded and tackled by the attempted murderer. As the two combatants hit the ground hard, Cas felt Pavel's dagger strike a glancing blow off the side of his helmet before the Arrester reached out and grappled his attacker's arms.

Using his own martial training, Casimir painfully twisted Pavel's wrist to disarm him before using another counter move to throw the attacker facefirst to the turf. Pavel gave another pained grunt and tried to break free before Cas twisted the murder's arm behind his back and restrained him from thrashing any further. As he caught his breath, the Arrester pulled out a small pair of iron manacles and locked them tightly around the criminal's wrists.

"Ok dirtbag, I'm placing you under arrest for attempted murder, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer of the law."

As Pavel relaxed and gave up struggling, Cas gave a relieved sigh and inwardly patted himself on the back for his impressive solo arrest. He took a quick look around the calm rooftops and wondered how things were going down below with Felix and the victims. Certainly all the commotion would have attracted the attention of the Boros Wojeks or some other Azorius officers by now.

Deciding not to waste any more time, Cas hauled the criminal to his feet only to notice a black ink tattoo on Pavel's forearm. There was no mistaking the sinister skull-like mark of the Rakdos cult. Taking violent criminals off the streets was one thing, but being able to take down one of the cult's bloodthirsty followers would make the arrest today all the more satisfying.

"All right pal, let's get moving," Cas grinned to himself while escorting his new prisoner, "You wanna get over your ex-wife? You've now got a hot date with a detention sphere."

* * *

Upon reaching the ground floor of the apartment building, Cas was surprised to find a trio of the Boros guild's Wojeks had arrived to help stabilize the stab victim and keep the rest of the crowd under control. Two of the red and white garbed soldiers kept the crowd at a safe distance with their long steel halberds while the third helped Felix staunch the victim's wound. Seeing that the third Wojek appeared to be a trained medic, Felix gladly stepped aside and let the female Boros warrior work over the victim with her kit of bandages, salves, and healing magic.

While Felix waited, he saw the crowds begin to part, allowing for two heavily armored Azorius hussars to ride up on their warhorses. He immediately recognized the face of the impressive horseman leading the way, Nikolai Resnik, a fellow Arrester who had been promoted earlier in the year.

"Arrester Novak! What's going on here?" Nikolai called as he rode up and dismounted his black stallion.

Felix gave a respectful nod and gestured to the scene in front of him, "Sir, we have what looks to be an attempted murder. Arrester Janko and I responded to a call for help from this lady here. She claimed her ex-husband stabbed her boyfriend with a knife and was attempting to kill them both."

Nikolai removed his helmet with a haughty air and the red haired man glanced about the scene in the streets, "And where is the assailant?"

Just then, Cas emerged from the entrance of the apartment building with his prisoner in tow. Felix gave a relieved smile as Cas handed off the criminal to him before removing his own helmet, his short dark hair now matted down with sweat. "Cas! I can't believe it! You got the perp!"

Cas gave a tired nod to his partner before glancing at the scene in front of him and then to Nikolai. A dark expression crossed his face but he gave a quick salute, "Officer Resnik, I've apprehended the attacker, sir."

Nikolai glanced to his old colleague and frowned, "It looks like you've also apprehended an injury to the side of the head. You're bleeding, Janko."

Cas touched the side of his head and was surprised to find a little bit of blood on his glove. He hadn't even realized that he had suffered a minor head wound from getting struck during the fight on the roof, "It's nothing sir. I'll be fine."

Nikolai shook his head, "Come on Janko, you should get that looked at by the medic here when she's done with the victim. Let me take your guy in for booking and..."

Cas took hold of the attempted murderer and fixed Nikolai with a hard glare, "And steal my arrest again, sir?"

Nikolai huffed in frustration, "Oh let it go Janko! That was a long time ago! It only happened once and I said I was sorry."

"Officer Resnik, law enforcers do not steal each others arrests," Cas said defiantly. It was a known fact in the precinct that Nikolai had a history of poaching other people's hard earned arrests in order to put himself on the fast track to promotion.

Felix reached out and put a hand on his partner's shoulder, "Cas... buddy, be careful how you're talking. Resnik's a superior officer now."

Just then, Nikolai's partner, a bald lanky hussar by the name of Cezary dismounted from his own black horse and stepped forward, "Calm down Arrester Janko. I'll take the prisoner in for you as a neutral third party here, ok? You should get patched up and take the statements of any witnesses."

Cas grimaced again and grudgingly handed over his prisoner and evidence to Cezary. In a way, the hussar was right. He probably did need medical attention and there was still a lot of work to do here in sorting out the incident. As the hussars mounted up and began to head back to the precinct headquarters, Felix put a hand on Cas's shoulder to lead him back to the crime scene, "Come on partner. First things first."

* * *

After getting his head wound cleaned and bandaged, Cas finished up at the crime scene and headed back to the Tenth District's precinct headquarters along with his partner Felix. By now, late afternoon had turned to evening. The bright sun had dipped below the city skyline bringing with it the gentle light of the stars, punctuating the blues and purples of the evening skies.

After returning to the administrative offices of the precinct building, Cas and Felix stopped in to file their incident reports and close out their shifts. After handing over a small sheaf of papers, Cas glanced over to the bulletin board where new prisoners were entered. As he read down the list of names of arresting officers, his eyes went wide when he caught sight of Nikolai Resnik. Next to his name was credit for the detention of a Rakdos cultist in an attempted murder... dated today.

Cas clenched his fists in rage and gave a low growl while marching quickly out of the office.

After submitting his own report, Felix turned and caught sight of his partner quickly stalking off toward the meeting rooms of returning patrolmen. He hurried over to fall in step beside his friend while wearing a concerned look, "Cas? Hey, what's wrong?"

"Resnik!" Cas fumed as they walked down the polished marble floors of the district station, "That slimy bastard did it again! He stole my collar!"

The two young Arresters passed by a few Azorius clerks and lawmages in blue robes before turning a corner and heading into a room full of returning hussars. As he marched into the lounge, Cas spotted Nikolai joking loudly with a handful of his fellow hussars, all of them still adorned in their immaculate ornamented plate armor. "Resnik! What the hell?"

Nikolai turned around in surprise before giving an amused smile and waving off his fellow hussars from intervening. "Arrester Janko, you finally made it back. Is there a problem?"

"You bet there is," Cas fumed, "And don't play dumb, sir. You know what you did."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Cas narrowed his eyes, "You and Cezary stole my collar and then took credit for the arrest this afternoon. The bulletin board doesn't lie."

Nikolai grinned again with a mocking laugh, "You may have caught that Rakdos scumbag, but when I brought him back to the precinct, I got him to make a full confession. It'll be a gift wrapped case for our Advokists to prosecute. That's why I'm on mounted patrol now and you're still just pounding the pavement."

The two men stared each other down for a long moment and Cas closed his fist preparing to strike when Felix stepped in and restrained his partner, "Don't do it Casimir. It's not worth losing your badge over."

Cas glanced over toward the other hussars who closed in and stood ready to jump in if a fight broke out.

"Come on partner, just walk away," Felix urged, "We'll cool out over a few pints of ale at that tavern, huh?"

Casimir Janko growled and stalked out of the precinct building followed by the sounds of the hussars' mocking laughter trailing behind him.

* * *

Later that evening, the off duty Arresters Casimir Janko and Felix Novak sat in the bar of the Goldleaf Inn, the new tavern that had opened up on Ivy Lane. They had dressed back down to plain tunics and slacks to fit in with the civilian crowds that they would normally be policing. The local neighborhood was primarily made up of Elves and humans and the decorum reflected a more natural earthy aesthetic. Much of the furniture and paneling was made from Selesnyan trees and the carved designs throughout the tavern reflected that of flowers and leaves. Nearby, a warm fire crackled in the corner while a thin cloud of sweet smelling pipe smoke hung in the air.

Amid the laughter and banter of the other tavern patrons who were eating and drinking, Cas sat with a dour frown looking into his half empty mug of ale. Felix sat quietly and finished drinking his ale before giving his partner a sympathetic look, "You know Cas, I was thinking... maybe if we go tell our commanding officer about this..."

"No," Cas replied, "It's not going to do any good. In the end it's just going to be my word against Nikolai's and he'll have the upper hand due to his rank."

At that moment, an attractive blonde Elven waitress came to the table to pick up their drinks. Felix gave her a charming wink and handed her a gold coin to buy another round of drinks, "Keep the change."

As she smiled and walked off, the burly fair featured Arrester turned back to his friend, "So then what are you going to do? You can't just sit and let Resnik get away with this either."

Cas remained silent, still pondering his next course of action.

After a pause, Felix gave another thoughtful sigh, "You know... it's kinda ironic. It's our job to stop criminals and thieves, and here we have one of our own acting like a thief himself."

Cas perked up in his seat as a slow smile began to form on his lips, "Wait... that's it Felix! You just gave me a great idea!"

"I did?"

Cas nodded to his partner with a sly grin, "We'll fight fire with fire. Nikolai Resnik is a thief who took something from me... so, what better way to get back at him than taking something of his."

"Oh boy... I really hope you're not planning on breaking the law Cas," Felix muttered in apprehension.

Arrester Casimir Janko shook his head with a conspiratorial smile, "Don't worry partner. We're going to do this by the book... but I'm going to need some help."


	2. Poetic Justice

The next day, Cas strolled down the shady tree lined walkways of Sages Row until he came to a familiar bookshop on the corner of the street. As he and his partner Felix stopped to look around, they saw several scholarly looking citizens of the Tenth District leave the quaint shop carrying handfuls of the books and scrolls they had purchased. This quiet neighborhood had long been known as a popular place for the more academically inclined people of the district with their thriving businesses centered around bookshops, printing presses, and coffee houses. Here and there, the two Arresters could see humans and tall blue skinned vedalken who wore robes identifying themselves as mages, local school teachers, and even a few Azorius scribes.

Cas glanced upward toward the bright blue skies above and watched an Isperian skyknight lazily glide by patrolling on a winged mount. From where he stood, Felix crossed his arms and cleared his throat, "Uh, Cas? Tell me again what we're doing here today?"

Cas turned his head and calmly looked over toward a local clock tower which began to chime the noon bells, "We're here to meet someone and they should be here any minute."

Moments later, the two Arresters heard the heavy clattering of horseshoes on cobblestones as they spotted an Azorius hussar approach them. Like the other hussars they had dealt with yesterday, the horseman was girded in shining plate armor and adorned with the ornaments and blue trappings of the Azorius Senate. However, this particular hussar was not a human, but a vedalken soldier instead.

The hussar stopped before them and dismounted his horse. Upon doing so, the tall lanky horseman gave a calm subdued smile before extending a polite hand, "Arresters Janko and Novak... I am glad to see you both again."

Both Arresters returned the smile and shook hands with one of the few hussars in their district that they actually didn't despise. Unlike the other human or elven horsemen, the rational nature of vedalken made them much less prideful and egotistical.

"Likewise," Cas nodded, "It's been a while Soval. I'm glad you were able to get my message and meet me here today."

The blue skinned hussar slowly tilted his bald head with an inquisitive expression, "Yes, though I am curious as to why you summoned me."

Cas gestured for Soval and Felix to continue walking with him down the street, "I was actually hoping I could ask for your help Soval. What I want to ask for is information."

Soval curiously raised his eyebrow, "Oh? What sort of information?"

Casimir continued, "Your buddy Nikolai Resnik stole a big arrest from me the other day and I want to try and poach one of his collars back. I was hoping you knew about any cases that Resnik was working on... you know, so that I could try and beat him to the punch."

Soval eyed the human for a moment before a slight smile curled at the corner of his lips, "I see. Eye for an eye style justice... sounds more like the mentality of the Boros Legion."

Felix turned and glared at the hussar for a moment before breaking out into a smile, "Well I'll be damned... was that a joke? The vedalken do have a sense of humor."

Soval composed himself again before clearing his throat, "Make no mistake. Nikolai Resnik is no friend of mine. He is a good law enforcer, but I sometimes find his methods rather... questionable."

"So does that mean you'll help me?" Cas asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.

Soval fell silent for a long moment and frowned thoughtfully to himself before nodding, "I believe so. Are either of you familiar with the Purple Wraith?"

Felix snapped his fingers, "Yeah... isn't that the thief who's been hitting all those merchant shops in Foundry Street these past couple months? The one who tags a purple ghost picture on the places he strikes?"

Soval nodded, "That is correct Arrester Novak."

Cas snorted in amusement and whistled, "I heard that Purple Wraith character might have a tie to House Dimir. That's why it's been so hard to corner that sucker."

The vedalken nodded again, "Indeed. Whether that is true or not, I happen to know that Nikolai has been doing a lot of legwork to track down the supposed criminal. Just recently, he had been bragging to our unit that he was getting ready to take down the burglar."

Felix gave a surprised look, "Really? He knows where to find the thief?"

"Resnik has already submitted a request for a search warrant," Soval confirmed, "He is waiting for it to be signed and notarized by a judge."

Cas chewed his bottom lip in thought before giving a nod, "All right... that'll work great. Thanks for the heads up Soval."

The taciturn hussar gave a curt nod and mounted back up on his horse, "I am glad I was able to have been of service to you Arrester Janko."

As he gave his horse a light kick in the side, Soval gave a ghost of a smile to Cas before riding back off into the crowds, "I wish you luck friend."

Cas grinned and crossed his arms as he watched the hussar ride off down the street. Moments later, Felix tapped his shoulder, "Cas... Soval didn't actually tell us how we're supposed to collar that thief."

"Sure he did," Cas replied as he clapped his partner's shoulder and returned to patrol, "We already know that there's a search warrant out. On it will be the address of the thief's hideout, which is likely where we'll find the stolen goods too."

Felix wrinkled his features slightly, "Okay... so how are we going to get a copy of that search warrant then?"

"We already know someone else who can help us with that," Cas chuckled giving a little wink, "And I'm sure she wouldn't mind doing me a little favor either."

* * *

Later that day, Arrester Casimir Janko finished his shift and made his way to the Tenth District's branch offices set aside for the Azorius Senate's judiciary workers. Unlike the more spartan precinct headquarters that he reported to, this building was decorated with pristine white marble and stately architecture. Whereas Cas was a member of the Senate's law enforcing Lyev branch, the workers of this building were the advokist lawyers and their support staff that made up the judicial Sova branch of the government.

As he walked the wide stately hallways, he made his way through paper pushing clerks and scribes until he arrived at a familiar office. Upon poking his head inside the large well furnished office, he spotted a pretty young woman near his age filing papers and scrolls away into their proper places. She was a slim brunette girl who wore her hair tied up neatly and she turned in surprise to fix her hazel eyes on him.

"Oh... Arrester Janko!" she stammered in embarrassment straightening out her blue robes, "I uh... I wasn't expecting to see you today. Please come in."

"Hello Lydia. I'm sorry to just drop in unannounced like this," Cas said apologetically as he removed his helmet and rubbed the back of his neck, "I uh... had to see you about something important. Are you still on duty?"

The young legal secretary nodded and gestured for him to come in, "Really? I didn't have any new court subpoenas that I needed serving just yet."

"No... it's not about the subpoenas," Cas said shaking his head, "I was hoping I could ask you a little favor. I came by to pick up a search warrant for an *ahem* friend in my office and I was wondering if it was ready to go."

Lydia furrowed her brow for a moment in thought before snapping her fingers, "Actually, yes! I think I know which one you're talking about. The one submitted by Officer Resnik for that burglar across town?"

"That's the one," Cas nodded, gracing her with a polite angelic smile.

Lydia hurried over to a cabinet and removed a small rolled up parchment bound with a blue ribbon. She came back over to him while returning the smile, "You have perfect timing Cas. Judge Acastus just signed off on it this very morning."

Casimir's heart skipped a beat in excitement as he reached out to take the warrant, but Lydia playfully snapped it back out of his reach, "Not so fast Arrester Janko. I thought we could make a little deal?"

"Oh? What kind of deal?" Cas asked curiously as Lydia gave him a flirtatious wink.

"Well... seeing as how I'm going out of my way to do a little favor for you, I thought maybe you could do something for me too."

The Arrester chuckled and officiously put his hands on his hips, "Ah... quid pro quo, huh? Felix warned me about this."

"So how about it Janko?" Lydia said suggestively, "Are we on for a dinner date tomorrow night?"

Cas smiled and reached out a hand, "I'll be there... and I'll tell you all about the big arrest we're going to make too."

Lydia giggled and put the rolled up warrant in his hand instead, "I look forward to it."

Cas grinned as he thanked her again and took the warrant, tucking it safely away into his belt pouch. As he left the office, a wide smile began to grow on his face. He had the warrant, he had a date, and now all he needed was a Dimir thief bound in handcuffs.

* * *

Late that evening, night had already fallen over the city as Arresters Janko and Novak rooted around the well furnished apartment of the suspected Purple Wraith. It was the early hours of the morning and the two friends still wore their uniforms and gear as they went to investigate the suspect's home. The apartment building was a quiet upscale property just off of Ivy Lane and the building owner let the two Arresters into the room after being shown the search warrant.

As they searched, Cas and Felix kept the room dark, choosing to use the light of their blue lanterns instead. The suspect, a half-elf by the name of Baelin Duskleaf was not home right now and the Arresters did not want to tip him off that they were already there... especially if he was out committing another robbery.

"Well, this looks like a pretty good haul to me," Felix muttered quietly as he sorted through a large pile of valuables that the Arresters found and placed on the living room table. There were finely crafted handtools, a few small weapons, jewelry, and even some bags of coins taken from the safes of the merchants. Felix held his lantern over the goods and Cas eyed the search warrant and matched each item with the goods reported stolen.

"Now all we need is the guest of honor," Cas replied taking one last look around. "That looks to be everything that was stolen."

Just then, the two Arresters heard the sound of someone at the door putting a key in the lock.

"You ready to do this partner?" Cas hissed to Felix as he snuffed out his small lantern.

Felix gave a silent nod before snuffing his own lantern and hiding in the doorway of a side room, preparing to cut off their suspect's escape if he ran.

A few moments later, a young half-elf male in a dark purple hooded tunic opened the apartment door and strolled in carrying a large burlap sack over his shoulder. As he walked in, he began to light a few lamps in the room before he froze at the sight of an armored Azorius Arrester standing in front of him in the living room.

"What the..." the half-elf gasped as he dropped his bag and turned to run. He was immediately stopped as the burly form of Felix intercepted the thief from behind and grabbed him in a rough hammerlock.

The half-elf gave a yelp of pain as Casimir pulled out the search warrant in the dim light of the room, "Mr. Baelin Duskleaf? I am Arrester Casimir Janko and I have here a search warrant for a list of stolen goods from the merchants of Foundry Street. As you can see... we were extremely successful in our search."

"What? How?" Baelin gasped in desperation as he tried one last time to get free. Felix gave the burglar's arm another twist, forcing him to submit.

Cas kept a straight face as he spoke calmly, "Unless you've got a really good explanation for why these goods are in your apartment, then I'm placing you under arrest for suspicion of Grand Larceny."

Baelin blinked again in complete shock before giving a sigh and bowing his head in defeat.

As Felix clamped the thief's wrists and ankles in chains, he grinned to his partner, "Nice collar partner. Resnik's eyes are gonna pop out of his head when he sees this."

Cas shook his head tiredly, "Thanks Felix, but you deserve just as much credit. You backed me up the whole way."

"Nah, you can take this one in," Felix grinned passing off the prisoner to his friend, "Besides, someone needs to stand around and guard the loot before backup comes, right?"

Cas gave a grateful smile to his friend and nodded while heading out the door, "Thanks again partner. I'll still credit you in the incident report."

After Cas walked out the door with the prisoner in tow, Felix gave a weary smile and sat down on the nearby couch. As he kicked his boots up on the table, he couldn't help but give a long and satisfied laugh.

* * *

Early morning sunlight streamed in through the glass windows of the precinct building as Azorius law enforcers began to muster together for their routine morning roll calls. As he made his way through the central hall, Nikolai Resnik brushed off some lint on his blue tunic and rubbed out a few smudges on his steel helmet before hearing a small commotion in the front hall. He ambled over curiously to see a group of Arresters laughing and applauding as one of their own walked in the door, escorting his newest prisoner.

A bleary eyed Casimir Janko smiled proudly as he kept a firm grip on a young half-male elf in a dark purple hooded tunic. Nikolai stared incredulously as a few hussars poked their heads out into the hallway to see what all the fuss was about.

"Hey! Way to go Janko! You finally nabbed that thief! Nice collar!" came the gleeful calls of the Arresters as they cleared the way for their fellow patrolman.

Nikolai stood right in the path of the incoming Arrester and sputtered in furious outrage, "Hey! What is this? What the hell do you think you're doing Janko?"

"I'm bringing in a new prisoner for processing sir," Cas answered smartly as he flashed a calm smile to the incensed hussar.

"You mean to tell me that this is the Purple Wraith? The thief that I've spent the last two months tracking down across the district?" Nikolai sniffed.

Cas reached for his belt pouch with his free hand and removed a small document, "I have here a signed search warrant for a one Baelin Duskleaf. I executed the warrant and upon searching the premises, I found Mr. Duskleaf in possession of all the stolen goods from the Foundry Street merchants. Arrester Novak is standing watch over said goods as I speak."

Nikolai eyed the warrant and felt his face grow red with anger and embarrassment realizing that Cas had just one-upped him. Resnik had stolen an arrest from Janko, and now Janko had poached his own case... a much higher profile one. It took a literal thief to humiliate a thief.

Unable to protest any further without losing face, the hussar ground his teeth and stepped aside with a growl, "Screw you Janko."

"Thank you sir," Cas grinned giving a smug salute to the hussar as he passed by. While he continued to march down the hallway toward the processing office, Casimir tiredly wondered to himself if this arrest would earn him a promotion. He hated the thought of potentially leaving Felix as a partner and he wondered if he would be able to train to be a skyknight instead of having to jockey around with the stuffy hussars of the district.

At least for now, he had other priorities to take care of first. Cas had a prisoner to hand off before getting some sleep. After all, he had to make good on a promise of a dinner date with a pretty young legal secretary later... and he really hoped she'd let him show her just how grateful he was feeling right now.


End file.
